Porn extortion scam threatens to send webcam video of victims to their contact list
Threatening email may come with real password a victim has used
Manitoba Mounties are warning the public not to fall for an email extortion scam that's targeting people who may have watched porn online.
The scam, which has been around for a while, threatens to release a video of a victim taken while he or she was watching porn from their webcam, which the scammer claims to have hacked.
"I created a double-screen video. 1st part shows the video you were watching (you have a nice taste haha), and 2nd part displays the view of your webcam, yea it is u," says a letter from the scammer.
Woman gets 2 extortion emails
Ste. Anne resident Jacinthe Blais got the email twice this week and was stunned when she saw her password had been compromised. "I started reading and the message says that I have been on special websites for pornography and that I was filmed while I was watching and that I was doing things," she said.
Jacinthe Blais describes the extortion threat she received:
"My first reaction is what is this? But what I hated the most was that it says we have all your list of contacts, and then when you know that they have your password you can believe anything."
Blais says she knew it was a scam because she hadn't watched any porn, but could see how others would be tricked into paying up.
The email says the scammer has infected the victim's computer with a virus that let them take over the victim's webcam and demands $1,000 in bitcoin in exchange for the scammer destroying the video. Otherwise, the scammer says, the video will be forwarded to the victim's contacts.
The scam is getting new traction as those behind it have started to email real passwords victims are currently using or have used in the past. Police believe the passwords are coming from past data breaches, but aren't sure who is behind the threats.
RCMP have received five reports from people in Manitoba who have received the emails since July 25.
"I think they feel pretty vulnerable, and it really makes them think twice," said Sgt. Breanne Chanel, head of the Manitoba RCMP's commercial crime unit. He recommends people don't engage at all with the scammers.
Police say the website www.haveibeenpwned.com is a great tool for checking whether your data has been breached.
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With files from Radio-Canada's Patrick Foucault